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MEMORYLANE

Flowing inside the enigmas of art, liberation and knowledge, some stories eventually accept their inevitability. By locating the footpath of my ancestors, specifically of my grandparents and my great-uncle Jaime Lockward, an editor, journalist, writer and pioneer cultural and art critic in the Dominican Republic, you will find the axis of Art Labour Archives journey.

My grandfather, George Augustus Lockward Stamers, was a historian, university professor, philologist, writer, journalist, cooperativist and Gideon Society member . My grandmother, Celeste Pérez Soler, worked her entire life as librarian of Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes. She was also a master theatrical seamstress. I grew up surrounded by books, paintings and artists, actors and actresses, theatre and music. The bar of the Teatro Nacional in Santo Domingo is named in honour of my grandfather´s brother, Juan Lockward, a singer, poet and composer still unmatched in Dominican popular music.This is why I had to leave. To “prove” that I was my own Lockward persona. After all these years all I can say is: I am here because of them, big time. Above all, they taught me that strict work ethics are more than a moral imperative; it is simply the only way to do any-thing. And also that culture without community is superfluous. With their example they instructed me on the value of self-organization as a key to enjoy our own position in society and that whatever we do, it must be fun: glamour and social engagement are mutually inclusive. With that motto I have built this work platform, which is also my life.

“La Familia Lockward”, by José Antonio Núñez Fernandez, one of the many articles written on the history of my family. This one starts with the musical legacy of my great grandfather, Louis Alexander Lockward Capré (Maestro Danda), who was a famous shoemaker and a socially engaged composer in Puerto Plata, our hometown. Listín Diario, 8.11.1998, p. 12-C

The legacy of my uncle Jaime Lockward is portrayed in this article by Reginaldo Atanay in relation to artist Jaime Colson. Museo Bellapart in Santo Domingo, is a private institution entirely dedicated to the extraordinary contribution of Colson to (Dominican) art history.http://www.museobellapart.com/